On Chatham Naval Memorial is the name of C/JX 199487 Able Seaman Ronald James Heseltine, serving on H.M. Submarine Pandora with the Royal Navy, who died 01/04/1942.

The son of James and Anna Heseltine, of Earsdon, Northumberland.

Colin Boyd has provided the following:

AB Heseltine was serving on board HMS Pandora, a Parthian Class submarine, when she arrived at Malta on 31st March 1942 to offload stores. The island was bombed the following day and HMS Pandora was struck by two bombs and sunk. There were 27 casualties including Ronald James Heseltine who is listed as ‘Missing presumed killed’

As a postscript the surviving crews from submarines HMS Pandora, P36 & P39 were being returned to the UK on board submarine HMS Olympus when she struck a mine off Malta on 8th May 1942. There were only 9 survivors from the 98 on board so most of Pandora’s crew that had survived the sinking were lost a month later.

Ronald James Heseltine is remembered at Earsdon on E3.01 and in our List of Ships’ Crews.